Thesis Archive
Solvent Free Microwave Extraction of Oil from Kenaf Seeds and a Study on its Dielectric Properties (2011)
Terrence Dheyniel N. Del Rosario
Bernadete Blair Y. Garcia
Gregg Rainier L. Palao
Abstract:
-“Nowadays, the production of biodiesel is becoming more popular and gathering significant attention from the scientific community because of its advantages compared to diesel fuel. Biodiesel is derived from oils from plants or animal fats; therefore it is readily available and renewable. At De La Salle University-Manila, one of the candidate feedstock that is being studied for biodiesel production is Hibiscus Cannabinus L. or commonly known as Kenaf. Biodiesel production from the seeds of Kenaf by microwave irradiation has come a long way in its development but like many other studies, further research has to be done in order to make the process more efficient. This study focuses on the determination of the dielectric constant and loss factor of Kenaf seeds, with varying moisture content and frequency, and also the solvent free microwave extraction of the seeds. The dielectric properties were measured using the parallel-plate capacitance method. The oil yield was also tested for its properties such as moisture content, acid value, glycerol value and oxidative stability. The dielectric properties were determined at a frequency range of l – l00kHz and graphs produced were all asymptotic. Results show that the moisture content and frequency greatly affect the dielectric properties of the seeds. The dielectric properties are directly proportional with moisture content, while inversely proportional with frequency. The correlation between moisture content and dielectric properties was also established for easier approximation in the frequency range. The seeds having its natural moisture content of 9.26% yielded a dielectric constant of 2.2 while it went up to 79.48 at 22.37% moisture which is comparatively desirable due to the fact that it is close to another seed’s dielectric constant which was already used for a solvent free microwave extraction procedure. The dielectric loss factor was found to be 0.27 at the seed’s natural moisture but this was easily elevated to 1.751 through moisture elevation. For the extraction part, the oil extracted using Solvent Free Microwave Extraction was determined to be crude oil with high values of acid value and moisture content which was tested by Chemrez Technologies Inc. The study for the determination of the value of the dielectric properties of Kenaf seeds will greatly aid in the process of oil production, as it may open new possibilities on how to improve the present methods of this process. “
Adviser:
Ms. Florinda T. Bacani
[email protected]